Ham Radio Supporting Flood Relief in Appalachian Communities

Memorial Day volunteers at the Tazewell County EOC (L-R, standing): Leroy Maxey, AG4RW; Doug Minnick, WD4BSB; Rich Armstrong, KS4XO; Rich Beamish, K4FCP; Jerry Connelly, KC8TES; Jerry Brewer, KI4ECT; Paul Crawford, KB4KKQ, and Fred Krack, K4HVB. Seated is Warren Yates, KG4ZNJ. Not shown, Roger Keen, KI4EPS. [Glen Sage, W4GHS, Photo]

A culvert beneath this road in the Longbranch community of Tazewell County gave way, collapsing the highway above it. [Tom Allen, KB6KLO, Photo]

Flood waters washed away this mobile home in Swords Creek. [Glen Sage, W4GHS, Photo]

The view from the EOC in Richlands: A truck navigates a flooded roadway in the background. [Glen Sage, W4GHS, Photo]

NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 2, 2004--Many Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members in Western Virginia gave up their Memorial Day weekend to assist American Red Cross flood recovery efforts in extreme Southwest Virginia. Heavy rainfall in late May caused creeks and small streams to overflow in Appalachian Mountain communities in Russell and Tazewell counties. Virginia Gov Mark Warner has declared a state of emergency in the two counties, where the flash floods May 25 affected hundreds of residents. Flood waters destroyed more than 40 single-family homes and five businesses in Tazewell County, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. VDEM says upward of 200 homes may have suffered damage in Russell County. Dozens of other homes and businesses were damaged, but no injuries have been reported. ARES South Piedmont District Emergency Coordinator Glen Sage, W4GHS, has been working directly with the Red Cross in deploying ARES volunteers.

"We've set up two communications centers at two distribution points," said Sage, who noted that most ARES volunteers came from his neighboring district because the Virginia ARES Southwest District is still being organized. One comms center is at the Richlands emergency operations center and police department in Richlands; the other is at an elementary school in Swords Creek. Because the affected communities are situated in narrow mountain valleys, Sage said the volunteers have been using both VHF and HF.

In addition to shadowing Red Cross volunteers and providing any necessary communication they need, Sage said, ARES volunteers also have helped those coming in from outside the isolated region to find their way around. "We have a couple of local hams who know the area very well," Sage explained. "In addition, some of the hams have carried in GPS units."

The area remained under a flash flood watch for most days since the ARES activation began May 28, Sage said. In the midst of it all, he and Red Cross personnel were called away to Pennington Gap in Lee County--near the very tip of western Virginia--to follow up on a tornado that destroyed a couple of houses and damaged a few others.

In Russell and Tazewell counties, Sage said the Red Cross had arranged for local motels to shelter anyone displaced by the flooding and at least one shelter was opened, but most of those forced to flee are staying with family members and friends. "We got stories of some people who just barely got out," he said. "Some of them linked arms, and one person had on waders and water was coming over his waders, and if anyone would have slipped and fell, it probably would have taken them all." One area received four inches of rain per hour at the height of the downpour, Sage said. "It was real intense in a small geographical area."

Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the floodwaters washed away bridges connecting those living along or near the overflowing creeks with the rest of their communities. "About all of these bridges are gone," he said, "so it's going to be a huge cost in rebuilding the bridges." Some local highways were washed out, and a few schools were closed in both counties.

ARRL Assistant Virginia Section Emergency Coordinator Ron Sokol, K4KHZ, says it was slow-going for Red Cross damage assessment teams as the rain continued. "They worked in the mud," he said. Sokol said the ARES volunteers also have assisted the Red Cross in distributing food and water, delivering needed medications and passing out vouchers for groceries and such household items as mattresses and box springs.

Sage said that although VDEM and Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel have visited the area to aid the recovery, he reserved his highest praise for the Red Cross volunteers. "At this point, the only active group I've seen out in the field has been the American Red Cross," he said. "And they've just been doing a yeoman's job." While cooperating during the relief effort, Sage said the ARES and Red Cross volunteers have developed a great deal of mutual respect. "My back is sore from being patted by the Red Cross," he remarked. "They're just thrilled to death."

The Red Cross's own radio systems are meager and cell service virtually non-existent in the area, Sage explained. "We are their communication, and I'd say we saved them 1000 to 2000 hours in work." Ham radio ingenuity also came in handy. Since a lot of the newer Red Cross vehicles have fiberglass bodies, the typical amateur mag-mount antenna was useless. Sage said the ARES team made up J-pole antennas and simply taped them onto the vehicles' non-metallic bodies instead. "Our communication has been very very solid using this system," he said.

Sokol and Sage said the vast majority of the ARES responders turned out from counties and towns well away from the stricken region--a few from as far away as Roanoke and Martinsville to the east. In all, Sokol estimated that some three dozen ARES members participated in the flash flood activation, which is expected to wrap up by week's end.

A two-county Simulated Emergency Test (SET) last fall involved some two-thirds of the amateurs responding in the current emergency, Sage said. "The scenario dealt with flash flooding, so people who had never been in a disaster felt comfortable going in there because of that SET." The responding group included at least two hams who had been licensed for less than six months.

"This has had a tremendous influence on the people of our organization," Sage said. "They come back chattering about how good it is to help people in this way, and I think their enthusiasm has been infectious."

Sage also said the response represented "a huge commitment of energy and time" on the part of the ARES volunteers, some of whom made repeated 300-mile round trips to the flood zone.

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